Star Square
Xiao Yan wasn't sure what the girl's attitude was towards the Xiao Clan, but he realized she was teasing him, so he obediently jumped back and forth repeatedly.
Unexpectedly, the girl seemed to have had enough fun. She suddenly straightened up, her smile fading, and said, "The Three Thousand Burning Flame are all in remote places, located in the starry sky. They can only enter the sight of humans when they develop intelligence."
"You refined a Three Thousand Burning Flame, which means you destroyed the intelligence of a Three Thousand Burning Flame."
"I'm innocent!" Xiao Yan suddenly let out a wail, his heart filled with sorrow as he said, "When the Three Thousand Burning Flame were first born, a Dragon Seal was planted on them by an Ancient Void Dragon. After countless years, they only grew into the form of the Ancient Void Dragon, waiting to be harvested by it!"
"Later, some changes occurred with the Ancient Void Dragon, and the Three Thousand Burning Flame were sealed by the Pill Tower, which was a force formed by an Alchemist, by some twist of fate."
"They coveted the power of the Three Thousand Burning Flame, yet they were unable to refine it."
"I paid a great price to rescue the Three Thousand Burning Flame from the Pill Tower, protect his soul, and refine his physical body."
"Now that Three Thousand Burning Flame has named itself Candle Star Flame, it is already a Peak Dou Zun expert!"
The girl was slightly taken aback, then reached out and beckoned. The Three Thousand Burning Flame within Xiao Yan's body trembled slightly, spitting out a black star that flew into her palm.
Playing with the tiny star, the girl said with a smile, "The star of the Three Thousand Burning Flame will record everything it has experienced. If you confess now, you may receive a lighter punishment."
Xiao Yan looked down at the crater he had created. The palace actually had a self-repairing function. The rubble crawled and coalesced together, and the human-shaped crater had been mostly repaired, leaving only a shallow trace.
"Heh, stubborn as a mule, huh!" The girl sneered, then flicked her finger, sending the star back into Xiao Yan's body. "Then I'll believe you this time."
"..." Xiao Yan touched his chest. The star did not re-merge into the flames, but instead remained quietly suspended in the purple Emperor Flame.
What the girl said was probably true; the stars record everything. If Xiao Yan doesn't get rid of this black star, Xiao Yan will remain under its control.
Even Xiao Yan's emotional fluctuations could affect the Emperor Flame, and thus be known to the young girl.
"I'm more than 18,000 years removed from this era, but judging from your reaction, you seem to know something about the Star Palace? So much so that you ran away as soon as you saw it?"
"I simply maintain a basic sense of awe for the unknown and believe that we need to gain more understanding and gather more people in order to better explore this seemingly extraordinary Star Palace."
"If you're afraid of death, just say so. Why all the fancy talk and rambling?"
"Palace Master, you are unaware that the Dou Qi Continent is still waiting for me to save it, so I cannot die."
The girl stared at Xiao Yan, whose face was full of seriousness. This child actually had such lofty ambitions... Could he have lost his mind?
Stepping onto the stool, the girl stroked her delicate chin, pondered for a while, and then jumped off, saying, "Fine, fine, what can I do? I haven't seen any living people in so long! Come with me, I'll show you my harem!"
Xiao Yan then shifted his gaze from the floor and followed the girl, bypassing the high seats, passing through a dark corridor, and arriving at a square.
Above the plaza stretched an endless starry sky, with Black Stars emitting a faint glow that caused Xiao Yan's Emperor Flame to fluctuate slightly.
The square is filled with statues of various shapes and postures, each sculpted from stars, their rich stellar power echoing the stars in the night sky.
These statues are all life-sized and dressed in the same style, but their faces are all blurry, and there are some subtle differences in height, weight, and build.
"This is my harem. What do you think of these statues?" The girl asked, somewhat smugly, as she floated in the air and patted Xiao Yan's shoulder.
"What kind of thoughts does the Palace Master want to hear?" Xiao Yan did not answer. The specific materials of these statues were really hard to say— Old Yao could burn people into ice with his Bone Spirit Cold Flame.
"Write me a more sentimental one."
"Sigh~" Xiao Yan sighed sadly, "The Palace Master must have been a very affectionate person back then."
"..." The girl stared at Xiao Yan speechlessly with her eyes half-open.
"Unfortunately, the span of time is even more despairing than space. By the time the Palace Master becomes invincible and unparalleled in the world, and can disregard worldly affairs, it will already be too late."
"Even though the Palace Master meticulously crafted it again and again, he could never replicate the appearance of that person from his memory."
The girl frowned after listening, then sighed and said, "That's well said, but don't say it again next time."
"Okay." Xiao Yan nodded readily.
The girl pointed to the square and said, "I don't know if you're guessing or if you really know something, but I have indeed forgotten some things."
"I must have met a senior member of the Xiao Clan in my early years. It was with his or her help that I was able to refine the Three Thousand Burning Flame."
"At the time, I forgot everything and thought it was just good luck. It wasn't until I broke through to the Emperor Realm Soul that I noticed something amiss—within that Three Thousand Burning Flame, there was a blurry, almost vanished, Soul Imprint."
"I can't remember who that Soul Imprint belongs to. I only remember that he or she should be from some Ancient Race. They burned their Dou Di Bloodline to help me refine the Three Thousand Burning Flame."
"I know in my heart that only by breaking through to the Dou Emperor can I remember everything and revive that Soul Imprint."
"However, that's impossible; the Dou Emperor has become extinct."
"Later I found the Yin Yang Twin Flames, suppressed them with my cultivation, and stole life force to nourish that Soul Imprint. Originally, seeing your vigorous life force, I even wanted to use you as a furnace."
"However, since you were able to separate the soul from the Heavenly Flames seed without damaging it, it would be a pity to kill it directly."
Xiao Yan took a deep breath and looked at the many statues in the square again, as if he were seeing dead people one by one.
"Don't misunderstand. Being drained by the Yin Yang Twin Flames would leave nothing but dust, not even a hair. It's impossible for them to turn into statues—these statues were indeed carved by me, stroke by stroke."
"I'm not confident I can extract that Soul Imprint either. As you said, Palace Master, you only discovered that phantom after you broke through to the Emperor Realm Soul."
"It's alright, I'll consider it a relief if it's broken. Anyway, I didn't break it. At worst, I'll avenge him/her." The girl looked at Xiao Yan with a smile.
Xiao Yan's eye twitched. This Star Palace Master was indeed a lunatic. Being targeted by her was simply bad luck.
I couldn't seem to capture the feeling I wanted in my writing. I wrote and deleted, wrote and deleted, deleting about three thousand words in total. Before I knew it, it was quite late.